The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1887-07-28
BUNCH.

Speaking of his don este arrange
ments when he became rector of a
country parish, Sydney Smith said:
"A man servant was too expensive, SO
| caught up a little garden-girl, made
her like milestone, put a napkin in
her hand, christened her Bunch, and
made her my butler The girls taught
her to read, Mrs. Sydney to wait, and
| undertook her morals. Bunch be-
came the best butler in the county"
If servants are not what they used to
be, and the race of Bunch has disap-
peared, may it not be because en-
ployers are not what they used to be,
and do not take as much trouble with
the training of their servants as was
taken by Sydney Smith, his wife and
daughters? These sensible people
wanted a good seryant, so they set
about making one, and Bunch was the
by no means despicable result.
II we give the servant difficulty a
little unprejudiced consideration, most
of US will come to Mr.. Ruskin's con-
clusion-that the only way 70 have
good servants is to be worthy of being
well served "All nature and all hu-
manity will serve a good master, and
rebel against an ignoble one. And
there is no surer test of the quality of
a nation than the quality of its serv-
ants, for they are their masters shad-
ows, and distort their faults in flat
tened mimicry! A wise nation will
have philosophers in its servants hall;
a knavish nation will have knaves
there"
In the training of Bunch, her mas
ter and each member of his family
took an interest and had a share. The
girls taught her to read. AS rule,
there is too little of this mutual help
and sympathy between the young la
dies of the house and the young SER
vant-girls. Too often the former look
upon the latter as beings of different
flesh and blood from themselves. They
do not teach them anything improv-
ing; but only, by their example, to
dress extravagantly and with bad
taste, to be fast and rude in manner,
to be selfish, indolent, and often ire
ligious.
Mrs. Sydney Smith taught Bunch to
wait at table, but mistresses nowadays
are too fine. to indolent, or too igno-
rant to teach their servants this or any
other domestic accomplishment. 1t is
often advocated that training schools
should be established for domestic
servants; but improvement must be-
gin at the head. If we are to have
training schools for domestic servants,
the servants may wen say there ought
to be a training school for mistresses.
To rule well Is even more difficult than
to serve well. Every woman who has
a house TO govern should know what
the duties are OF everyone she en-
ploys, how to do them, and when to DO
them. Unless she does, she will never
be mistress in her own house. "Knowl-
edge is power" in this ease, as in every
other; and the servant who really does
know her work very soon detects
whether her mistress has any knowl-
edge of the same OF not, and becomes
mistress Of the situation in very lit
craL manner here she finds that her
nominal mistress is ignorant
Sydney Smith himself looked after
the morals OF Bunch. Certainly the
head Of the house is It's natural priest,
but he must do more for the religion
and morals of those whom he employs
than merely read or say prayers to
them and give them opportunity to at
tend public worship. A little real in
terest and sympathy with the recrea-
ton, friendships, and perhaps hOmely
tragedy of a servants life will do more
for her morals than acres of lectures
and tons of sermons-sermons gener-
ally are heavy. But if religion and
morality are not taught merely by
catechisms and formal acts of worship,
then it is the example of each member
Of a family that makes or mars the
morals OF such an one rs Bunch. She
Will copy everything the young ladies
do, and 4 word of encouragement
from them will be much appreciated,
If they rise early. so will she; if they
show pattern of order, neatness and
cleanliness, 50 viii she; if they are con-
scientiouS in reference to little things,
so will she be. In word, if the la
dies of house look after their own
morals, they can not but improve
those of Bunch. Here, then, is a work
you young ladies may do as holy and
as useful as the most painstaking dis
trict-visiting without going beyond
the door of your fathers house Teach
girls like Bunch to become good wives
and mothers, and you will be doing a
work for God and man of quite ines
timable value.-TBe AuthOr of .'Rol0
TO be Happy Though Married" :" jn Cas-
SETS Family HagGzine.